Registered unemployment reaches 13% in Estonia
04.12.2009, 15:56The share of registered unemployed from the employable population reached 13% last week.
According to the ministry of social affairs, a total of 85,267 people have registered as unemployed in Estonia.
Anu Alber, head of the ministry's labour market department, said today that the number of registered unemployed increased by 2,360 people last week. A week earlier, the figure was 2,335 new unemployed.
Alber said that 2010 will be a tough year. "We don't see that the growth in unemployment is going to slow down any time soon. The economic climate may be slowly improving, but it will be a long time before these changes are reflected on the labour market," she said.
The government plans to allocate 400 million kroons for the state employment programme for the next year including paying 94 million kroons in compensation to companies that create new jobs.